After receiving criticism from Chelsea’s rival managers Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, Graham Potter defended Chelsea’s extravagant purchasing binge this season.
Graham Potter of Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool & Pep Guardiola of Man City (Photo: Getty/Liverpool/Man City)
The Chelsea signed eight players in the January window at a cost of around £296million, ending their flurry on deadline day by breaking the British transfer record with a £107m deal for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.
Combined with their outlay last summer, Todd Boehly has now spent roughly £550m this campaign – the most amount of money spent in a single season by a European club in history.
This transfer policy has been widely derided and much has been made about how Chelsea have exploited a loophole to spend so much while still complying with Financial Fair Play rules.
On Friday, Klopp and Guardiola both hit out at Chelsea for different reasons, with the Liverpool boss confused as to how they have been able to legally spend so much, jokingly adding: ‘I’ll say nothing without my lawyer!’
The Manchester City manager meanwhile was more scathing, claiming that his club had been unfairly targeted in the past for their big spending.
Following Chelsea’s goalless draw with Fulham on Friday night, Potter was asked for his opinion on his rivals’ comments and was questioned over whether he fully understood how his side were complying with FFP.
Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Enzo Fernandez (Photo: Getty)
He replied: ‘Yeah I do. And I think you’ve got to look at it all in terms of an investment, in terms of transfer fees and salaries.
‘Because sometimes you can sign a player for less of a transfer fee but their salaries are enormous.
‘So it just depends on how you structure, how you structure the deal, but we’re confident with what we’re doing.
‘I think the [recruitment] guys have done a good job, the club have done a really, really good, and now my job is to improve the team.’
After the disappointment of the draw with local rivals Fulham, Potter will certainly be hoping to improve his vast squad ahead of their next game against West Ham next Saturday.
The Blues are currently ninth in the table, nine points off the top four.
source: metro.co.uk
